Senior police officer accused of assaulting Capital FM journalist to face charges

Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji has directed Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome to file criminal charges against a senior police officer who assaulted Capital FM journalist Angela Muiruri on December 19, 2020, at a residence in Kileleshwa.

This comes after investigations by the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) established that Samuel Boit, a superintendent of police, applied excessive force on the radio presenter, warranting him to be charged with two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm, contrary to section 251 of the Penal Code.

Boit is based at the Nairobi area police headquarters and at the time of the incident, he was the officer in charge of the operations to ensure compliance with Covid-19 regulations.

Angela was among 21 women who were assaulted during a security operation in Nairobi’s Kileleshwa estate at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the time, Angela, a former Miss Kenya-USA pageant winner, said they were about to leave a garden party when more than ten police officers stormed in and ordered everyone to sit.

“We had finished by 8:30 pm and the police arrived at 9:10 pm as we were leaving,” she said at the time.

When she questioned the police actions, she was slapped and was left nursing injuries. The other women were also whipped, and all were detained in the parking lot way past curfew hours.

"As a citizen, I understand my rights and I say you cannot manhandle women like that. I think that made the officer mad, and as I was saying that, I was slapped, but I tapped back at the officer, and that is when he proceeded to whip me,” she said.

The women were then bundled into a waiting police lorry and driven to Muthangari police station where they were booked and later released at 4am after parting with Sh1,000 each.

“As we left, they also made us sign a form that said that we had been released on free bond,” she added.

She later filed a formal complaint at the KICC Police station against Boit, whom she had identified as the person behind her assault. This was after attempts to report the matter at Kileleshwa, Kilimani, and Nairobi area police stations failed.

The report attached a medical report from a Nairobi hospital that showed she suffered severe bruises on her lower limb.

A clip showing what transpired went viral on the internet, sparking Kenyans' outrage.

A reaction by then-Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai made things worse when, in a statement, he said the injured were trying to escape arrest.

The US Embassy in Nairobi has been following up on the matter since Angela is an American citizen by birth.